


Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

by t_dragon



Series: T's 2018 Fanfic Advent Calendar [9]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 13:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16913673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Chanyeol just wants to build a snowman with Baekhyun, goddammit!





	Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to mention it here, even if it's in the tags, but Baekhyun is seriously ill in this AU. Don't worry, though, everyone lives and have long and happy lives in the end!  
> This was not even supposed to go like this, but I guess something about writing this in the middle of the night made it this way, sigh...

 The first time Chanyeol and Baekhyun met, it had during the first real snow of the year Chanyeol turned thirteen, when it layered itself thickly on the ground, allowing the neighborhood kids to get out and frolic in it. Chanyeol had just gotten outside, marvelling at the thick snowflakes falling from the sky, when he noticed a boy struggling with one  _ really _ big ball of snow.

 “Hey! Do you need some help?” Chanyeol called out as he ran towards the boy, who spun around to face Chanyeol, face all red from the cold and exertion. “I can help you, you’re building a snowman, right?”

 “Y-yeah,” the boy answered, slumping against the snow he had managed to roll together. “I-I want the  _ biggest _ s-snowman!”

 “It’s easier to do if you’re two, let’s go!” Chanyeol said, and then they spent the entire afternoon and most of the evening building their joint snowman. Chanyeol had to go get his older sister to help them get the head on, but it really did turn into a super big snowman.

 “Chanyeol, it’s time for dinner!” Chanyeol’s mom called out as he and the boy were admiring their piece of work, and Chanyeol quickly called back that he would be right there.

 “Hey, do you wanna build more snowmen? To get a whole snowman army!” Chanyeol exclaimed, all twitchy smile and excitement.

 “Sure!” the other boy said, grinning almost as widely. “I’m Baekhyun!”

 “I’m Chanyeol! Let’s meet soon again and build more snowmen!” Chanyeol said before rushing over to his house, waving goodbye to Baekhyun from the door before he closed it after himself.

 Chanyeol and Baekhyun only managed to get together to build four more snowmen before the snow disappeared too much for them to be able to build more, because Baekhyun had to go away for really long times sometimes. He had recently moved to the same street as Chanyeol because it was closer to the hospital, and the hospital in Seoul was better than the one where Baekhyun had used to live.

 After winter ended, Chanyeol and Baekhyun continued to meet up every now and then, quickly building a nice friendship. Baekhyun transferred to the same school as Chanyeol, but he could only be there a few days at a time, and Chanyeol was not allowed to play with Baekhyun all the time, so their friendship never evolved much further from ‘nice’.

 A year went past, Chanyeol turned fourteen, and the snow arrived again. As soon as it was thick enough to be able to build a snowman, Chanyeol excitedly bounded over to Baekhyun’s house, knocking and cheerfully saying hello to Baekhyun’s mom before Baekhyun appeared next to her, all wrapped in a blanket and looking so very pale.

 “Hey, Baekhyunnie, do you wanna build a snowman?!” Chanyeol exclaimed, a bit loud due to his excitement. “There’s a lot of snow, we can build an entire army!”

 “I’m sorry, Chanyeollie, but I’m not feeling so well,” Baekhyun said, voice a bit shaky, and he looked thinner than last time Chanyeol had seen him.

 “Oh, okay, that sucks,” Chanyeol said with a pout, all too used to this now. He still did not know what was wrong with Baekhyun, since Baekhyun had not told him, but he knew it was not good. “I’ll start with out army, then, and I’ll come back another day to see if you feel better so we can build some snowmen together!”

 “Okay, I’ll watch over the army from my window!” Baekhyun said, a weak yet still bright smile on his face that Chanyeol mirrored.

 “Sounds good! Gotta go, I have a lot of snowmen to build!” Chanyeol called out as he turned around and sprinted away. “Bye, Baekhyunnie, bye Baekhyunnie’s mom!”

 Baekhyun did not feel well enough to build snowmen with Chanyeol through most of that winter, and the few times he did, he mostly spent the time helping Chanyeol with minor things, like collecting twigs for arms, whilst Chanyeol did all the heavy rolling and lifting. But Chanyeol really did not mind, he enjoyed the company anyway.

 Spring came around again, melting away all of the snow, and Baekhyun stopped going to school completely. He and Chanyeol would still play every now and then, but always in Baekhyun’s home, and not for any long moments. After a while, Baekhyun would fall asleep, and Chanyeol would sit next to him until he was making the puppy noises that let Chanyeol know that he was deeply asleep, before Chanyeol would tell Baekhyun’s mom and then head home. Chanyeol did not mind too much, Baekhyun’s puppy noises were cute.

 Another birthday went past, with Chanyeol turning fifteen, and things changed. Not only was he growing  _ a lot _ , but his voice started to settle into a deeper tone, and the puberty that had snuck upon him was nearing its end with all that meant. It was also the first year in a long time that not enough snow appeared for Chanyeol to be able to build a snowman army, so he did not ask Baekhyun if he wanted to build any. What was the point without any snow anyway?

 Just before winter broke into early spring, a large snow storm swept across the country, leaving Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s street covered in deep, fresh snow, and as excited as always, Chanyeol quickly got dressed to hurry over to Baekhyun’s. Before he went that far, though, Chanyeol was stopped by his mom, who told him that Baekhyun was not at home. He was at the hospital, and would probably not be home before the snow melted again.

 Chanyeol’s mom was right - the snow melted and completely disappeared before Baekhyun came back home again. But he did not come home alone, and when Chanyeol was allowed to see Baekhyun again, he was introduced to Mongryong.

 “He’s a corgi, and he’s supposed to help me feel better,” Baekhyun explained, giggling as the puppy nipped at his fingers, before rolling around on the floor begging for tummy rubs. Chanyeol did the mistake of giving them, making Mongryong attack his hand, but he was still too uncoordinated to do any real damage.

 And for a while, Baekhyun seemed to be doing better. He was not back in school, but he had the energy to meet Chanyeol more often, and Chanyeol was happy. He always felt so bubbly and excited when he saw Baekhyun, and Chanyeol liked that feeling.

 Then autumn came, and Baekhyun got worse again, much worse. Not even Mongryong could keep him out of the hospital for long, and whenever he was home, Baekhyun did not have the energy to see anyone. He really wished he could see Chanyeol though, because he and Mongryong missed Chanyeol - that Baekhyun told Chanyeol through a handwritten letter.

 Whenever Baekhyun felt strong enough, he would write Chanyeol a letter, and as soon as Chanyeol received a letter, he would write one back. Sometimes he wrote several before he got a reply, but he was fine with that. He thought that maybe they could help somewhat, help Baekhyun.

 Needless to say, Chanyeol turned sixteen, the snow arrived, Chanyeol sent a letter asking if Baekhyun wanted to build a snowman, and Baekhyun responded that he really wanted to, but he did not have the energy to.

 But one snowy day, Chanyeol was finally allowed to go over and meet Baekhyun again. He was doing somewhat alright, and his mom thought it could be nice, so she invited Chanyeol over.

 It almost ended in disaster, as Baekhyun freaked out as soon as he saw Chanyeol. And Chanyeol could somewhat understand, even though he really could not.

 Baekhyun did not have any hair left. All of his hair was gone, and he was way too skinny, trembling so hard as he screamed that he did not want Chanyeol to see him like that. Mongryong, no longer a puppy, was whining from beside Baekhyun’s bed, sounding so upset, and that was what finally broke Chanyeol.

 Not even thinking, he rushed forwards, wrapping his arms around the now harshly sobbing Baekhyun, feeling the way his heart beat a thousand times a minute in his frail chest.

 “You look really pretty even without your hair,” Chanyeol mumbled, over and over, as Baekhyun relaxed against him and hugged him back, all the way until Baekhyun’s crying quieted down into light sniffles.

 After that, Baekhyun was so exhausted that he needed to take a nap, but he did tell Chanyeol that he was happy that he came by, and gave Chanyeol his phone number. It was a bit easier to text than to write letters, and it did not take as long for their messages to arrive.

 Chanyeol felt as if he was walking on clouds as he walked out of Baekhyun’s house after saying goodbye. He had Baekhyun’s number, he could reach him at any time!

 Baekhyun continued to spend a lot of time in the hospital as winter turned into spring, and spring into summer. He and Chanyeol would text a lot, getting to know each other even more through their little discussions, and it had Chanyeol realize some things. Some very dangerous things, because Chanyeol was young and not yet fully used to all of the hormones running through his body, sometimes stringing him out completely. He was also sometimes very dramatic, and if there was one thing you should be dramatic about, after all, it was your first crush.

 And that was how Chanyeol simultaneously realized that he liked guys, and that he liked  _ Baekhyun _ . Even if they did not see each other more than a few glimpses here and there, and only communicated through their phones.

 Chanyeol turned seventeen, and the snow seemed like it would stay away for another year. It was well into December before any fell, and it was not enough to be able to build a snowman army. Chanyeol did not even know if Baekhyun was home, but he built a tiny snowman, barely the size of his own hand, took a picture of it, and sent in a text to Baekhyun with the caption ‘ _ Do you wanna build a snowman? _ ’.

 He did not receive a reply.

 As a teenager, Chanyeol did a lot of growing, and that (among other things) led to him enjoying sleeping so much more than he had before. And it was sleeping that he was doing one (late) morning, when he was suddenly awoken by a strange sound seemingly coming from right outside of his window.

 Was that barking? Chanyeol was pretty sure that was barking, and that single thing had him crack an eye open and focus.

 Yes, that was indeed barking, what was going on?

 Grumbling a little, Chanyeol managed to slither out of his bed, heading over to the window to pull the blinds open. Bad move.  _ Everything _ was white, shiny, gleaming white, hit by the sunlight and magnified to the point of nearly burning Chanyeol’s eyes out, making them water up.

 As Chanyeol rapidly blinked his eyes to both get used to the sunlight and get rid of the tears, the barking continued, and Chanyeol suddenly made out two figured outside of his window. One small and one big, the small one barely even visible through the snow, and it was the small one that was barking.

_ Wait- _

 Pulling his window open and ignoring the cold, Chanyeol stuck his head out and almost fell out in disbelief.

 “Baekhyun?!” Chanyeol called out, and sure enough, that was Baekhyun, standing below the window and grinning so brilliantly - even brighter than the surrounding snow.

 “Chanyeol! Do you wanna build a snowman?!” Baekhyun called back, voice so much steadier and clearer than before, and it was like music to Chanyeol’s ears.

 “Yes, of course, yes! Gimme a moment to get dressed and come downstairs!” Chanyeol rushed out, hitting the back of his head as he retreated inside, but that was okay, because he could hear Baekhyun’s melodious laughter from outside. How long had it been since he heard Baekhyun laugh like that? Had he  _ ever _ ? Chanyeol did not know, but he was damned sure he was going to make the most of it.

 Chanyeol almost ran Baekhyun down as he stumbled outside, still not having zipped his jacket closed, beanie not yet pulled down to cover his ears. Chuckling, Baekhyun had reached out to help him with his beanie as Chanyeol closed his jacket, Mongryong jumping around them all excited.

 “You’re here, you’re actually here, wanting to build a snowman,” Chanyeol could not help but say, and he knew he was sounding so amazed, but he did not care. Baekhyun was here!

 “Yes, so come on, we have a lot of snowmen to build to make up for the last few years!” Baekhyun exclaimed, grabbing Chanyeol’s hand and pulling him towards an area where they could place their army.

 They spent hours on their snowmen, Baekhyun helping almost as much as Chanyeol did. They had to give their first snowman to Mongryong to playfully attack, just to keep him entertain as they continued on with the rest, but they were fine with that. Sometimes you had to make some sacrifices, and unfortunately it had to be the first snowman they built together again.

 After they had managed to get ten snowmen together, a record for both of them, they were worn out and decided to head over to Chanyeol’s. Baekhyun had not been there for years, and he told Chanyeol that he was really bored with his own house, so he wanted to see Chanyeol’s instead. Readily agreeing, Chanyeol forgot about the fact that he had literally stumbled out of bed and into clothes, leaving a trail of sleepwear on his floor, but he would have to (very embarrassedly) deal with that later.

 And when they stepped inside and undressed, and Baekhyun pulled his own beanie off, Chanyeol could not help but steal a glance. All the hair was back, black and shiny, and Baekhyun shot him a grin as he noticed Chanyeol staring. Chanyeol smiled back and ruffled Baekhyun’s hair, making him protest, and that was when Chanyeol’s mom found them.

 Baekhyun then had to withstand her sudden attack, a firm hug followed by some gushing, before she led them into the kitchen and made them some hot chocolate. Somehow, Chanyeol managed to convince his mom that they should go to his room and drink their drinks as they caught up on what had happened during their time apart, and after another hug, they were released.

 Mongryong was the one alerting Chanyeol to the state of his room, barking at a pair of boxers on the floor, which Chanyeol swore were unused as he red-face tried to clean up the mess as quickly as possible. Baekhyun was laughing so hard he had to put his cup down, and that had Chanyeol groaning in embarrassment. Way to go, Chanyeol, bringing your crush to your room and having your dirty laundry out…

 Oh, right.  _ Those feelings _ were still there. Just as strong as they had always been, maybe stronger, Chanyeol realized as he watched Baekhyun wheeze as he tried to calm down.

 “Hey, are you okay?” Chanyeol asked, very worried as Baekhyun wiped tears from his cheeks.

 “Yeah, I’m fine, you don’t have to worry,” Baekhyun said, and he did seem pretty okay. Only about as bad as a laughing fit would get you, and that was acceptable.

 Nodding, Chanyeol picked up his own cup and showed Baekhyun to the sofa standing to one side of the room, and they collapsed down into it, Mongryong coming up to curl into Baekhyun’s lap.

 “I never told you what made me so sick, did I?” Baekhyun began, eyes on his fingers as he played with Mongryong’s ears. The corgi did not seem to mind, just huffing a little before closing his eyes.

 “No. I had my guesses, though,” Chanyeol answered.

 Baekhyun nodded with a chuckle, releasing Mongryong’s ears for a moment to drag a hand through his hair. “Guess my hair loss was a pretty big giveaway… So if your guesses had something to do with cancer, then you were right!”

 Chanyeol slowly nodded, eyes on the cup in his hands, as he tried to gather his thoughts. Sure, he had suspected that it had been cancer, but to actually hear it, get it confirmed, was absolutely  _ terrifying _ .

 “You seem, hm, better?” Chanyeol ended up saying, eyes flicking up to Baekhyun’s face for the barest of moments, catching the smile on his lips.

 “Yeah, I kinda feel better, you know… It got pretty bad for a while, but for some time things have been going really good, actually,” Baekhyun said, and Chanyeol could hear the happiness and relief in his voice. “So far, all of my tests have come back clean, meaning that as of now, the cancer is gone. I still need to get checked every now and then, and I won’t be completely cleared until five years have gone past without anything popping up, but things are looking brighter…”

 “Really?!” Chanyeol exclaimed, so loudly that both Baekhyun and Mongryong jumped. “Oh, shit, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you-”

 “No, it’s fine, Chanyeol, it’s fine,” Baekhyun interrupted him with a laugh, taking hold of the hand that Chanyeol held up. “You’re happy about it, and that makes  _ me _ happy, and I- I want to try something, okay?”

 Chanyeol frowned but nodded, wondering what Baekhyun wanted to try, but as Baekhyun slowly leaned closer, Chanyeol quickly realized what it was. And Chanyeol’s heart suddenly felt as if it had gotten wings and was about to break free out of his chest and fly away.

 Unable to wait, Chanyeol hurriedly closed the distance and brought their lips together, tightening his hold on Baekhyun’s hand as he did so. It was pretty amazing, kissing Baekhyun, because even though they were both obviously very inexperienced, it was nice and warm, and it made Chanyeol feel like party crackers were going off inside of his blood.

 All the way up until Mongryong decided that he wanted some kisses too, and began to give them without permission, making Chanyeol and Baekhyun shoot away from each other with high-pitched laughters and protests.

 After they had placated Mongryong and he had gone back to sleep, Chanyeol and Baekhyun stayed on the sofa, holding hands. Even if Baekhyun was much better nowadays, it was still draining to do too much at once, and even Chanyeol was feeling tired after their building. And he kind of just felt like sitting there and gazing into Baekhyun’s lovely, starry eyes, with them every now and then sparking up hushed conversations about anything between heaven and hell.

 It was really nice, actually, and Chanyeol wanted more of this. So he gently tugged on Baekhyun’s hand to get his attention, and Baekhyun quickly gave him it.

 “Hey,” Chanyeol whispered. “Do you wanna build a snowman? This winter, and then the next winter, and so on?”

 Baekhyun’s smile was the most radiant one Chanyeol had ever seen, and Chanyeol could have sworn that it heart stop and then start beating again.

 “Yes, I do,” Baekhyun answered, “this winter and all of the coming winters.”

 “It’s a promise, then,” Chanyeol said, leaning forwards to seal it with a kiss (that was short enough that Mongryong did not wake up and notice).


End file.
